Tutoring is going high-tech. A new tool is coming to Clark County schools to help students help each other, and it even offers some incentives.
"Once you leave that classroom you can't ask questions anymore," says Jennifer Gordon, whose kids turn to her for homework help. "If it's grammar or spelling I can help her but that's about it."
So she's looking forward to the launch of CircleIn, the smartphone app that lets students upload and share their notes online. They can also use this app to tutor other students who may be having a difficult time doing their homework at home.
If helping fellow students isn't incentive enough, there's an enticing point system where users can redeem the points for game tickets or dinners through the help of several app partners like Zappos, and Caesar's Entertainment.
But that's not all.
Gerald Meggett Jr., the CEO of CircleIn, says, "If I'm the one providing help, I earn community service hours right inside the app. So when it's time for me to apply for college I can show I have over a hundred community service hours, peer tutoring classmates, that's beneficial long term."
Whatever you upload can be seen by anyone who has the app. But don't even think about uploading anything inappropriate.
"We can flag that, report that to the school. But we can also remove the student from the app very, very easily," says Meggett Jr.
The app is coming to Las Vegas this upcoming school year. Developers are working with the Public Education Foundation, Clark County School District and the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED).
Paul Anderson of GOED says, "Every kid has a very high potential, and their outcome shouldn't be dictated by their zip code, or their neighborhood or where they're from or their family situation."
"I think it sounds incredible. And really, I know for my daughter, she's going to get a sense of pride like, 'You know, I'm helping somebody,'" says Jennifer Gordon.
